The Book Thief

The Book Thief. Markus Zusak. Alfred A. Knopf. 2005. 550 pages. Source: Audio Library

First sentence: First the colors.  Then the humans.  That's usually how I see things.

Plot: It is 1939 Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath.

Death has never been busier, and will become busier still.

By her brother's graveside, Liesel Meminger's life is changed when she picks up a single object, partially hidden in the snow. It is The Grave Digger's Handbook, left there by accident, and it is her first act of book thievery. So begins a love affair with books and words, as Liesel, with the help of her accordion-playing foster father, learns to read. Soon she is stealing books from Nazi book-burnings, the mayor's wife's library, wherever there are books to be found.

But these are dangerous times. When Liesel's foster family hides a Jew in their basement, Liesel's world is both opened up and closed down.

In superbly crafted writing that burns with intensity, award-winning author Markus Zusak has given us one of the most enduring stories of our time.

My thoughts: There are lots of books about WWII from different points of view.  The Nazi soldier, the sympathizer, the Jew, the decendents but never have I read it from Death's point of view.  With Death being the Narrator you can be sure it doesn't have an especially happy ending.

I don't take these subjects very lightly but this was a great read.  Two children, Liesel and Rudy, are for the most part the main two characters in the story.  They have a strong friendship and they share just about everything.  Everything except a hidden Jew in Liesel's basement.  The children survive through this awful time the best way that they can.  That sometimes has them stealing food.  Liesel also steals books. Probably because it helps her to get through each day with something to read.

Then comes the day when Death visits very close to Liesel.  She is left to start over again at the age of 14 with another "foster mother". 

The Women in the Castle

The Women in the Castle. Jessica Shattuck. William Marrow. March 2017. 356 pages. Source: Audio library 

First sentence: The day of the countess's famous harvest party began with a driving rain that hammered down on all the ancient von Lingenfels castle's sore spots - springing leaks, dampening floors, and turning its yellow facad a slick, beetle-like black.

Plot: Set at the end of World War II, in a crumbling Bavarian castle that once played host to all of German high society, a powerful and propulsive story of three widows whose lives and fates become intertwined.

Amid the ashes of Nazi Germany’s defeat, Marianne von Lingenfels returns to the once grand castle of her husband’s ancestors, an imposing stone fortress now fallen into ruin following years of war. The widow of a resistor murdered in the failed July, 20, 1944, plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler, Marianne plans to uphold the promise she made to her husband’s brave conspirators: to find and protect their wives, her fellow resistance widows. (Goodreads)

My thoughts:  After reading some reviews on this one I couldn't wait to get my hands on it!  If you like World War II stories you are going to love this one!

The story travels back and forth in time from pre-war to post-war.  There is very little coverage of during the war.  But we know all too well the horrible things that occured during that time.  After the war three widowed women live in the castle owned by Marianne along with their children for a short time.

After the war the story goes on to tell the background of each woman and how she came to be where she is.  Then it moves to present day.  The women are in their 80's.  They are being invited back to Germany to the Castle for a dedication of a book about Marianne and her efforts for the resistance.

This story reminded me of The Nighingale by Kristin Hannah.  Not exactly how they worked through the war but how they were invited back to their home land to be honored.

It was a good story and considering the content I enjoyed it.